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A Conversation with Dr. Lucy Jones

Dr. Lucy Jones is the founder of the Dr. Lucy Jones Center for Science and Society, with a mission to foster the understanding and application of scientific information in the creation of more resilient communities. She is the author of the forthcoming book, The Big Ones (Doubleday, April 2018) and is also a Research Associate at the Seismological Laboratory of Caltech, a post she has held since 1984. Working with both the public and private sectors, Dr. Jones seeks to increase communities’ ability to adapt and be resilient to the dynamic changes of the world around them. The aim is to understand and communicate where the greatest vulnerabilities lie and what actions can be taken to reduce the risk that are the most cost-effective. With a Bachelor of Arts in Chinese Language and Literature from Brown University and a Ph.D. in Geophysics from MIT, Dr. Jones has been active in earthquake research for decades, furthering earthquake risk reduction through seismological research and integrated disaster scenarios.

LS: Hello, I'm Lisa Stevens with the BC Construction Association. I'm here today with Lucy Jones, an expert in earthquake research and earthquake risk reduction from LA. Lucy is the 2018 distinguished lecturer for the Earthquake Engineering Research Institute, BC Branch. She's in Victoria to talk about creating resilience in our communities, particularly about creating building codes that reflect the realities of earthquake loses.

LJ: Thanks for having me here.

LS: Welcome. Thank you for taking the time to chat with me today. As you know, BC Construction Association is sponsoring the symposium Understanding Risk in the build environment in April. I'm very pleased to share the benefit of your experience in advance of that event. My first question: Why should people working in construction and building trades be concerned about preparing before The Big One?

LJ: Because what happens in the earthquake depends completely on what we've done before. Many people believe we must have good building codes, right? And in fact, the building code has advanced the cause of life safety greatly. Earthquakes early in the 20th century, many people died. We see it now in California - even some quite large events - very limited deaths because we focused on life safety. The problem is it's only focused on life safety. We've said, 'If your building is a total financial loss after the earthquakes that was your choice to make. You just can't kill people in the process.' So the building code is solely about not killing people. The problem is, where do you live after the earthquake? Where do you go to work after the earthquake? How do you keep your city's economy going after the earthquake? The individual's financial choice to have a weak building has implications for everyone around them. As we look at how this plays out in big earthquakes, we think that we really need to move towards a higher standard that actually tries to make the building something that can be rebuilt - it doesn't have to be perfect, but you shouldn't have to tear it down after the earthquake. Unfortunately, the way our building code is constructed, it's likely that many buildings will be completely torn down or replaced and how do you keep your city running then?

LS: Do you have an idea or a picture of a framework for building code that would be better reflective of the realities of earthquake loss?

LJ: You’ve got two issues, one is the policy decision. What is the standard that we want to build towards? Then there’s the technical issue about how do we accomplish that standard? And right now, we’ve had the objective of life safety and a technical approach that’s focused on collapse prevention as the definition of how a building kills people. What we are looking at is that as a policy matter we say, we want better than this. We want a building that we can use again after the earthquake – at least not too long after, with limited repairs. The technical approach really needs to be quite different, and I’m not an engineer so I trust my engineers to do this, but it’s focused on resilience of the structure and the ability to repair it afterwards.

LS: Do you think there’s a business case to help motivate the construction sector to support the changes that are needed?

LJ: I think one thing is that people assume it must be much more expensive and that really isn’t the case. In California, we have significantly different risk. In Orange Country the expected rate of earthquakes is enough less than it is in San Bernardino, that your building is quite a bit weaker. So we know exactly how much it costs to build a stronger building and it’s about 1 to 2%.

LS: Which doesn’t seem like much.

LJ: It’s a very, very small amount. That’s the level of difference below what you get just because of different labour costs in different markets. So we want to first recognize that we are saving a very small amount of money on the short term with a very large cost in the long term. I think the other point is, do want a city where you can continue to work afterwards? If we lose too many buildings, you might think, we look it, look at all that construction we’re going to be able to do afterwards. But at least in California, we have such a low level of earthquake insurance, if we lose that many buildings, it’s likely that we’re going to be getting decades-long depression in the market. You’ll lose not only that particular building, but for decades thereafter we’re going to have a reduce economy. Who wants to live in California when things are all on the ground?

LS: To that point of consumer choice, do you think that there may be a shift in demand in the consumer side once buyers of residences or commercial space become more aware that they could be making a choice for a more resilient building? Do you think that could help drive the market?

LJ: I think it could drive the market. The biggest challenge is that we are very emotionally afraid of earthquakes. The idea of dying at an unknown time, just out of the blue, hits a lot of emotionally buttons. Therefore rational decision making is harder to be done here. We have found that many in the building industry very wary of a rating system. We said, why don’t you just say this is a better building you’ll be able to use after the earthquake?

LS: Ratings work.

LJ: Ratings work! And they’re afraid they work so well that they won’t be able to rent their buildings at all because they’re being driven by this fear around the life safety issue. Because our general public tends to think of earthquakes as life safety rather than the real issue of the economy. Whether it goes as a rating system vs. raising the whole code, given the cost difference is so small, raising the whole code seems to me a much better approach. We need to remember when one building is badly damaged in an earthquake, its owner loses that money, its tenants can’t go to work, but probably its neighbours lose the use of their building as well. So that economic decision to build a weaker building as implications for many people beyond just the owner. Especially in urban areas, I would advocate that there’s too much financial spillover and therefore, especially given the low cost, having it mandatory in an urban area makes more sense to me. I can imagine differently in a rural area, you don’t have buildings nearby, it is your individual choice. It’s not in the big city.

LS: Depending on the market, for sure. We’ve run out of time already! And we barely starting talking about all the important, interesting things that we could talk about. Thank you for your time. For our listeners, Dr. Jones has a book coming out this March it’s called, The Big Ones. Published by Double Day.

LJ: It comes out on April 17th but it’s available for pre-order now.

LS: Thank you so much for sharing your expertise and your passion for creating more resilient communities.

There are a record-breaking number of significant issues applying pressure to BC’s construction industry this year, and BCCA is working at the provincial level to make sure industry’s concerns and recommendations are heard loud and clear.

BCCA is extremely disappointed by the Federal Court of Appeal's Trans Mountain expansion project decision today which undermines Canada’s economy and role on the global stage. This blow to investor confidence comes at a time when BC is already under pressure from new tariffs, taxation, and policy directives.

The new BC Building and Plumbing Code will be effective December 10, 2018 and will apply to building permits applied for on or after that date. The BC Fire Code is anticipated to be adopted in the fall of 2018 and effective December 10, 2018. Buildings with permits in place under the previous 2012 BC Building Code will generally not be affected by the adoption of the new code.

The recent Community Benefits Agreement (CBA) announced by Premier Horgan’s government has created a major disruption in our industry.
Tradespeople and employers alike – both union and open shop – are working to understand the details of the 336 page document and what it means for them, following inadequate consultation with industry prior to the release of the policy.

Premier Horgan's Community Benefits Agreement (CBA) is the most dangerous and disruptive policy to be introduced by any government into our industry in recent memory.
Whether you are a union or an open-shop employer, your basic rights and freedoms as Canadians are being blatantly disregarded, as is government's obligation for fair, open and transparent procurement practises.

The new Pattullo Bridge Community Benefits Agreement patently illustrates what is unfair with our current government’s policy decision to mandate the nature and extent of procurement requirements in major public construction projects. For BCCA, an association that hinges its principles on fair, open and transparent procurement practices, this agreement is taking public policy in construction tendering a bridge too far.

It’s hard to think the construction sector is in trouble this summer, when everywhere across the province you see tall cranes, seas of hard hats, and traffic cones — all outward signs of a prosperous B.C. economy of which construction is a beneficiary.

BCCA is working with our counterparts at the local, provincial and national levels to inform government on the risks of Community Benefit Agreements, and to educate public owners on the use of fair, open, and transparent procurement processes which are an obligation and responsibility of government to taxpayers.

"Prompt payment” is a familiar issue in the construction industry. Of course there’s nothing prompt about it. It’s the LACK of prompt payment that makes it an issue, handicapping our industry, squeezing the small contractors, and pushing risk down into the supply chain onto those who can least afford to carry it.

The Understanding Risk British Columbia (UR+ BC) symposium, hosted April 16 & 17, 2018 in Victoria BC, marked the first time the construction industry played a leadership role in bringing together builders, designers, engineers, scientists, and policymakers to tackle the challenges of hazard mitigation and increased resilience in the industrial, commercial, and institutional built environment.

Official Statement - The BC Construction Association has long been a strong public supporter of BC’s oil and gas strategy and of the Kinder Morgan Trans Mountain pipeline in particular, recognizing the significance of the project for the economic prosperity of British Columbia and the rest of Canada provided that all environmental safety stipulations are met.

Principal, Thrive Consulting, Director, EERI-BC, and UR+ BC Organizer, Jessica Shoubridge, has worked across all orders of government, academia, non-profits and the private sector to help bridge gaps between science, policy, and action for risk reduction and resilience building.

We're with Lucy Jones, an expert in earthquake research and earthquake risk reduction from LA. Lucy is the 2018 distinguished lecturer for the Earthquake Engineering Research Institute, BC Branch. She's in Victoria to talk about creating resilience in our communities, particularly about creating building codes that reflect the realities of earthquake loses.

VICTORIA – Premier John Horgan today announced a suite of initiatives to pave the way for
women working or entering a career in the building trades through improved workplace
supports, services and practices.

In the day to day procurement process, details are not always “crystal clear”. The Town of Smithers knew this and worked harder to ensure a transparent bid process at every stage of the Airport project.

“It’s an ambitious budget that is working hard to provide assistance to equity seeking groups, which we can all appreciate. But it’s likely to be hard on small businesses who will see increased expenses – this is concerning because employers already have a significant cost burden. “ - Chris Atchison, President, BCCA

BC’s industrial, commercial and institutional builders will join geological scientists and emergency management professionals in Victoria this spring to share perspectives on mitigating hazard risk and improving disaster resilience in the built environment.

BCCA named “Best Bid” the most important two words in construction this year, following a statement by Premier Horgan in October to the BC Federation of Labour: “Low bids might be good for BC Liberals, but “best bids” are what we are going to do” said the Premier.

The BC Construction Association (BCCA) is reporting a decrease in the proportion of BC high school graduates entering the construction trades, in key figures released today for the province’s industrial, commercial, and institutional construction sector.

After a brief hiatus during the recent election period, the DMIIF brings together Deputy Ministers from the six big infrastructure ministries with industry representatives to work together on big issues that impact the construction industry.

BCCA fully supports a budget that puts families and working people first. Given the size of our sector and the role that contractors and their workforces play in the provincial economy, we believe that all issues are in some way construction industry issues.

The BC Construction Association, as the voice for the industrial, commercial, and institutional (ICI) construction sector in British Columbia, supports CCA’s participation in the above-mentioned coalition letter opposing the federal government’s tax proposals affecting incorporated small businesses.

Premier Clark holds a minority government but has not resigned, pledging to recall the MLAs to the Legislature by the end of June. At that time, the NDP and the Green Party (who have officially allied to form a majority) will present a non-confidence motion in Clark and the Liberal Party. Here’s how they stand on key issues impacting our industry...

The British Columbia Construction Association (BCCA) has published a follow-up to its Innovation Report (February 2016), which revealed BC’s construction sector lags behind other jurisdictions when it comes to innovation. The new report is called “Procuring Innovation” and lays out the case for the sector to recognize the procurement process as the key for driving innovative projects and sector development.

The British Columbia Construction Association (BCCA) announced today that Chris Atchison has been named incoming President, replacing retiring incumbent Manley McLachlan. The handover will begin on January 3, with McLachlan staying on in an advisory capacity until March 31, 2017.

Over the last decade new people, processes and procurement protocols have led to a loss in some fundamental practices in regard to accessing information that is paramount to fair, open and transparent bidding.

CCA has introduced the new CCA 26 A Guide to the Construction Management (CM) Project Delivery Method (2016). Along with the Guide these are some other considerations which are very important in insuring a successful delivery of a project using Construction Management.

The British Columbia Construction Association (BCCA) announces the election of long time construction industry leader Bob Cooke to the role of Board Chair for the 2016-2017 term, effective immediately.

The BC Construction Association has awarded a Distinguished Service Award to Houle Electric’s Regional Manager Ross McLean, in recognition of his contributions to the growth and stature of British Columbia’s construction industry.

In 2015, the Canadian Construction Association (CCA) embarked on a series of “Quality of Documents” workshops across Canada. CCA issues its report on the findings from the workshops. Learn more about these key findings and takeaways.

Connecting qualified workers with job opportunities in the skilled trades in Terrace and Kitimat is crucial to successful workforce development, particularly for the nascent LNG industry. To address this challenge, B.C. Construction Association (BCCA) teamed up with LNG Canada to create the LNG Canada Connect initiative. This initiative is completely funded by LNG Canada and is an extension of our Skilled Trades Employment Program (STEP).

VICTORIA, BC – Strong activity in British Columbia’s construction industry is drawing skilled workers back to the province from Alberta and more young people are entering the trades, according to the 2016 Construction Industry Survey released today by the BC Construction Association, in partnership with Progressive Contractors Association and Construction Labour Relations.

The British Columbia Construction Association (BCCA) has published an industry study that reveals BC’s construction sector is lagging behind other jurisdictions when it comes to innovation.
“BC is a leader in green building, wood, and procurement technologies, but we have catching up to do in most areas of construction innovation,” says Manley McLachlan, President of the BCCA. “Construction is an extremely competitive industry: employers are holding their cards close. The result is that we’re great at on-the-job problem solving but too often missing the big picture.”

Five members of the Local 97 of the Ironworkers Union of BC are volunteering their time to help rebuild the Lakay Trade School in Haiti. The school is a new two story steel structure, and the Canadian welders will bolt and weld the vertical alignment and attach the steel sheeting to the second floor and roof.

The soon-to-be-published ‘Building a BC Construction Innovation Strategy’ (a joint initiative of BCCA and the Home Owner Protection Office) points out one of the biggest hindrances to innovation and productivity in the construction industry: the inequitable allocation of risk down the supply chain to those least able to support it.

Employers in the construction sector will now be able to apply for funding to help their current and future employees upgrade their skills, thanks to two complementary funding programs announced today by the B.C. government and LNG Canada.

To support public owners in their efforts to hold themselves accountable to taxpayers through fair open, and transparent procurement practises, the BCCA offers Thresholds for Procurement of Publicly Funded Construction policy.

The Honourable John Duncan, Minister of State, Chief Government Whip, and Member of Parliament for Vancouver Island North, on behalf of the Honourable Michelle Rempel, Minister of State for Western Economic Diversification (WD), announced $1.6 million in funding to the British Columbia Construction Association (BCCA).

The Building Act is new legislation introduced in spring 2015. The Building Act is B.C.'s first act dedicated just to building and construction - it's designed to modernize and streamline the building regulatory system.

The rationale of the tender process is to replace negotiation with competition and, subject to the terms of the tender documents, negotiation is generally not permitted in the tender process. One of the primary reasons why negotiation is not permitted is to prevent bid shopping. Generally, where the tender documents expressly permit negotiation, negotiation is only permissible so long as it is consistent with what is expressly provided in the tender documents.

BCCA would like to congratulate Michael Green Architecture on its Award of Excellence for Innovation in Architecture, received for the design of the Wood Innovation Design Center (WIDC) in Prince George, BC. The eigh-storey building is the first tall wood building in Canada built beyond current building codes, and North America’s tallest contemporary timber building.